CONCERNS OVER GE SALMON BROUGHT TO SEC: Food and Water Watch is asking the Securities and Exchange commission to require AquaBounty Technologies to clarify the status of its proposed genetically engineered salmon to potential investors as well as disclose a pending legal action against the company in Panama where it has growing facilities. In a letter today to the SEC’s Office of Enforcement, the environmental group says AquaBounty’s application “omits numerous material facts, making statements therein misleading,” and calls for an investigation into the company’s claims to investors as it seeks a listing on NASDAQ. The letter is available here: http://bit.ly/1kyGTIC

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AquaBounty CEO Ron Stotish says his company is confident in the veracity of its filing. “We are not surprised at FWW, this is sort of what they do,” Stotish tells MA. “There is no merit to their charges and as usual they are just attempting to harass us … We’re confident that our filing is fine and I’m sure that we will be vindicated.”

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Morning Ag where, spoiler alert, today seems to be pretty seafood heavy. In other news, I could really go for a lobster roll about now. You know the deal: thoughts, news, tips? Send them to jhopkinson@politico.com or @ jennyhops. Follow us @ Morning_Ag and @ POLITICOPro.

DEAL REACHED TO PROTECT ENDANGERED SALMON FROM PESTICIDES: EPA is preparing to seek comment on a proposed settlement agreement with environmentalist that would put in place stream-side buffer areas to better protect endangered salmon species from pesticides. In a Federal Register notice set for publication Friday, EPA details the deal to settle the suit, Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, et al., v. EPA, which calls for 300 feet buffers between areas subject to aerial sprayings of carbaryl, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, malathion, and methomyl, and 60 feet for ground applications.

“These buffer zones would remain in place until EPA implements any necessary protections for Pacific salmon and steelhead based on reinitiated consultations with [the National Marine Fisheries Service],” according to the notice. “EPA is reevaluating these pesticides in connection with its current FIFRA registration review process and the proposed stipulated injunction would reinstate the buffers in the interim.” The notice is available here: http://bit.ly/1pSaL2U

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES FORM ASSOCIATION: A group of 14 commercial fishing organizations are launching the Seafood Harvesters of America today, an association that will be tasked with making the industries’ policy position known on Capitol Hill. The group will push for reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act as well as lobbying on EPA’s pending vessel discharge rule, catch share issues and ways to have effective yet affordable monitoring for the industry. More details on the association are available here: http://bit.ly/1i2A6lW

AG GROUPS LOOK TO #DITCHTHERULE: Agriculture groups seem to have come out in mass on social media in recent days in opposition to EPA’s proposed Clean Water Act Rule defining “Waters of the United States.” Farming interests argue the rule would be a huge expansion of CWA jurisdiction and potentially subject them to new permitting requirements, despite EPA’s claims to the contrary. #Ditchtherule is generating buzz on Twitter with memes (like this one: http://bit.ly/1pFoVHv) and, of course, the Missouri Farm Bureau’s “Let it Go” parody entitled “That’s enough.” The video, for those who haven’t caught it yet, is here: http://bit.ly/Ry8aiL

THE BIG MAC DEFENSE: New York City and the beverage industry sparred in oral arguments yesterday before the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, over whether the city can put a limit on the size of sugary drinks sold within its jurisdiction as proposed by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. During the almost hour-long session, the panel’s six judges questioned whether allowing the city to institute the ban would open the door to prohibitions on anything potentially unhealthy. Capital New York’s Laura Nahmais has the scoop:

“‘If Burger King had triple burgers, would you say, 'You could only have one?' ... Could you say, 'There’s too many patties and this Big Mac has to go?' Judge Gene Pigott asked Richard Dearing, counsel for the city’s health department.

“If scientific evidence existed showing significant health risks of a burger with three patties, then the department could, theoretically, try to limit the size of burgers, Dearing said. ...

“‘So where do you draw the line, these types of hypotheticals that we’re giving?’ Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman asked Dearing. ‘Where do we say it’s OK, as opposed to banning hamburgers, or veal or frankfurters?’” The full story is available to Pros here: http://politico.pro/SuQF3r

STRESS IMPACTS YOUR TASTE BUDS: A study out of the Monell Center, in Philadelphia, this week helps explain why you might gravitate towards the sweet stuff when you’re stressed out. According to Monell, receptors for “stress-activated hormones have been localized in oral taste cells responsible for detection of sweet, umami, and bitter. The findings suggest that these hormones, known as glucocorticoids (GCs), may act directly on taste receptor cells under conditions of stress to affect how these cells respond to sugars and certain other taste stimuli.” The study, published in the journal of Neuroscience Letters, is available here: http://bit.ly/1i3gmPc

Speaking of stress and sweets: After being asked about what the research says about sugar being addictive, Kimber Stanhope, a researcher at the University of California Davis, told attendees at the National Soda Summit in Washington, D.C., Wednesday that she has a study coming out that looks at how sugar can soothe stress receptors in the brain.

BILL SEEKS TO SECURE FOOD AID LOCAL SOURCING: “A new bipartisanSenate bill that would allow the U.S. Agency for International Development to choose where it sources the food aid it sends out could accomplish what a change in the 2014 farm bill has not yet been able to,” reports Pro Agriculture’s Bill Tomson.

“The Food For Peace Act of 2014, a bill introduced Tuesday by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), would allow USAID to choose how to dispatch food aid in the manner the agency sees fit. According to the bill’s authors, it would “free up as much as $440 million annually through greater efficiencies in delivering aid, allowing the U.S. to reach an estimated seven to nine million more people, in a shorter time period.”

“The bill gives hope to foreign aid advocates who are disappointed that the House and Senate Appropriations Committee chose not to fund a provision in the 2014 farm bill that would allow the USAID to buy a small portion of the foreign food aid it donates — $80 million worth — in regions that are close to troubled spots around the world. The United States spends roughly $2 billion each year on international food aid.” The full story is available for Pros here: http://politico.pro/1ujsVNE

IFEEDER GETS $125k: The Institute for Feed Education and Research has received a $125,000 donation from the F.L. Emmert Company — the largest public gift in IFEEDER’s history — for research on sustainable feed and food production, according to a statement yesterday from the group. IFEEDER is backed by the feed industry and has recently done work on the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus . Details on the donation available here: http://bit.ly/1ovyhC3

KLOBUCHAR AG LA HEADED TO PETERSON’S OFFICE: Adam Durand, a senior legislative aide who specializes in agriculture issues for Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, is heading to serve as legislative director for Rep. Colin Peterson, ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee.

MA’s INSTANT OATS

-- The dairy industry needs to start making innovations in the U.S. market to drive consumption instead of just looking at markets abroad, according to an op-ed in the Huffington Post: http://huff.to/1hbUdDg

-- The Center for Science in the Public Interest holds the final day of its National Soda Summit on "Winning Strategies to Reduce Soda-Related Diseases,” at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, Washington, D.C.

-- The Environmental Protection Agency holds a meeting of the workgroups of the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee on implementation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), at Potomac Yard South, 2777 S. Crystal Drive, Arlington, Va.

-- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) and the Global Business Dialogue hold a discussion on "The TPP Milk Shake: Dairy and the Trans-Pacific Partnership." The event starts at 9 a.m. at USCC, 1615 H Street NW, Washington, D.C.

-- The World Resources Institute (WRI), WorldFish, the World Bank, INRA, and Kasetsart University hold an event to release the newest installment of the 2013-14 World Resources Report: Creating a Sustainable Food Future, "Improving Productivity and Environmental Performance of Aquaculture." The event starts at 10 a.m. at 10 G Street NE, Suite 800, Washington, D.C.

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ARE YOU IN THE KNOW? POLITICO Pro eHealth reports that leading tech companies including “Google, Verizon, Accenture and IBM have major investments” in health care technology and that doctors, hospitals and businesses “spent at least $88 million lobbying Congress.” Pro eHealth subscribers get news before anyone else. For a taste of what the #ProsKnow, sign up here for Morning eHealth, the must-read morning tipsheet here http://bit.ly/Qyu4lQ.

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About The Author : Jenny Hopkinson

Before joining POLITICO, she spent three years at Inside Washington Publishers reporting on the EPA with a focus on chemicals policy, pesticides and water issues. Prior to that, Hopkinson was a reporter for The (Salisbury, Md.) Daily Times where she followed local governments as they tackled falling tax revenues and stagnating rural development, in addition to playing almost every mini-golf course in Ocean City, Md., in the name of a feature story.

Hopkinson earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Maryland. She lives in Washington, D.C.